The 2016 Crystal Mile is a Group 2 event run annually at Moonee Valley Racecourse right in the midst of October and the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It’s one of the classics of the day being run over a 1600m trip and worth $200,000 to the winning connections.

The Crystal Mile takes added value from the fact it’s run on the same card as the Cox Plate, the highlight of the Moonee Valley race calendar and indeed the favourite event of thousands of punters right around Australia.

Given the timing of the race it attracts a field of horses which probably usually run in events worth more than the $200,000 on offer. In fact much of the field is usually made of Group 1 runners coming off events like the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.

From this race a fair portion will head back to Group 1 territory for their next start on the final day of the Melbourne Carnival at Flemington in the Emirates Stakes.

Horses which have experience around the tight Moonee Valley circuit often have an advantage over interstate rivals however most important is the ability of the horse to run solidly through the mile.

The 2009 winner Rangirangdoo ran second in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap before coming to this race and winning easily. No horse in recent history has managed to claim the Crystal Mile / Emirates Stakes double however the third placegetter in 2009 All American went on to win the Group 1 later in the spring.

Le Zagaletta won the event in 1999 before going on to finish runner-up in the 2000 and 2001 races.

On both those occasions the race was won by Weasel Will in an extremely rare double.

Ironically in 2002 it was Weasel Will who crossed the line second, that race won by Royal Code.

Rangirangdoo won this race in 2009 and has since gone on to claim multiple Group 1 victories.

2016 Crystal Mile Field

The Crystal Mile field usually features a fairly decent selection of milers. As a Group 2 weight for age mile, it’s not particularly surprising that some of the biggest names in racing feature in the Crystal Mile field. There’s always value to be found for discerning punters in the Crystal Mile field, but some hefty form study is required.

The 2016 Crystal Mile field will be published here.

No

Last 10

Horse

Trainer

Jockey

Barrier

Weight

Hcp Rating

1

610x5212x6

THE UNITED STATES (IRE)

Robert Hickmott

Kerrin McEvoy

2

59kg

111

2

7236033×85

STRATUM STAR

Darren Weir

Mark Zahra

3

59kg

109

3

x2018x7323

HE OR SHE

David & B Hayes & T Dabernig

Dwayne Dunn

9

59kg

107

4

900x1xD2x0

LIDARI (FR)

Darren Weir

John Allen

7

59kg

102

5

3217111114

ROYAL RAPTURE

Darren Weir

Brad Rawiller

4

59kg

103

6

11246×3449

TASHBEEH

David & B Hayes & T Dabernig

Joao Moreira

8

59kg

97

7

2x1442x233

FEDERAL

John O’Shea

James McDonald

5

59kg

99

8

689×211521

ULMANN

Darren Weir

Damian Lane

1

59kg

98

9

0x0730x595

OBSERVATIONAL (GB)

John Sadler

Ben Melham

6

59kg

95

2015 Crystal Mile Nominations

The Crystal Mile nominations are usually released on the Monday prior to the race. Punters hang out for the Crystal Mile nominations, because they give a good indication of which horses are targeting which paths towards the end of spring racing.

The 2016 Crystal Mile nominations are published below.

Crystal Mile Winners & Results

Winners and placers in the Crystal Mile since 2000 with winning times.